The Monkey Twins Are Jealous

It had been raining for a week, and the Monkey Twins were tired of playing indoors.


They decided to ride their French ambulance. Pazzo got to go first while Pippo watched.


Suddenly, Pazzo fell off.


Grandpa Bear was working in the kitchen when he heard Pazzo start to wail. Grandpa Bear came running.


"What happened Pazzo? Are you okay?" asked Grandpa Bear.


Grandpa Bear picked Pazzo up and carried him into the kitchen.


Pazzo sobbed until Grandpa Bear finished putting on a band-aid.


The Monkey Twins went to play again, but very soon after, Pippo tumbled off the ambulance.


Pippo cried even more loudly than Pazzo.


"Oh, my goodness," said Grandpa Bear. "What a morning you two are having!"


"Where did you get hurt?" Grandpa Bear asked Pippo.
"My leg," said Pippo, looking at Pazzo.


"Which leg?" asked Grandpa Bear. Pippo thought for a moment.


"This leg?" asked Grandpa Bear. "Or this one?" Pippo didn't seem sure.
"Let's bandage up this one," said Grandpa Bear.


The Monkey Twins got out their marble run. There was peace and quiet for a few moments, but suddenly,


Grandpa Bear heard some angry squealing.


The Monkey Twins were fighting.



"Monkey Twins!" cried Grandpa Bear. "Stop it this instant!"


"Why are you fighting?" asked Grandpa Bear.
"It's my turn to play with the special marble!" Pazzo shouted.
"The special marble?" asked Grandpa Bear.


"Mine!" yelled Pazzo, and jumped on Pippo. The Monkey Twins were at it again. Grandpa Bear pulled them apart and made them put the marbles away.


No more marbles for today.


Grandpa Bear put some muffins on the table for the Monkey Twins' snack.


The Monkey Twins sat down and looked at each others' plates.


"Pippo has more muffin than me!" said Pazzo.


"Pazzo has more muffin than me!" said Pippo.


"Oh, Monkey Twins," sighed Grandpa Bear. He leaned over and looked at the muffins closely. The Monkey Twins waited and watched.
"Hmm!" said Grandpa Bear. "You're right! Pippo has one more crumb than Pazzo!"


The Monkey Twins did not think that was funny. Not at all.


Grandpa Bear looked at his two discontented Monkey Twins. There was silence for a moment.
"Come here, Monkey Twins," he said, and he scooped them up.


He scooped them up, and he held them close, and he rocked those little Monkey Twins. He rocked, rocked, rocked those little Monkey Twins. No one said a word. No one needed to.


Copyright 2009 Elizabeth F. Curtin

How to Make a Pompom Bunny

Here's how to make a beautiful little pompom bunny, one of spring's sweet babies.


This project will take some time. An upper elementary child can do it. It is also a fun project for a parent and would make a wonderful gift for a child. It is not a good gift for a baby or toddler, however. A baby might chew the fur, and the toddler might have a little too much fun pulling out all the hair.

For this project you need: poster board or other strong paper, some circles to trace, (or a compass,) a pencil, paper scissors, yarn in a good bunny color, thread, a large-eyed yarn needle, a sewing needle (or a doll needle if you have one,) strong fabric scissors, some felt for bunny ears, some yarn for the tail, and optional button eyes.

First decide how large you want your bunny to be. Choose some circles to trace for the body and head pompoms. For figuring out the proportions of the body to the head, it might help to look at a stuffed bunny toy or some photographs of real bunnies.

These children are tracing around a biscuit cutter for the body of the bunny.


This child is cutting out the tracing.


Now make the circle into a ring, and cut a slot in it.


This child is showing the slot cut in the ring. The slot helps you wind yarn around the ring.


Trace a circle for the head. You need two of each size ring, all slotted.


Pick out a beautiful bunny colored yarn. I was lucky enough to have some gray cashmere left over from a knitting project.


Stack the two large rings and start wrapping your yarn. We started with white wool to experiment in making a spot on the bunny, and then began winding the gray cashmere.


Wrapping until the ring is plump will make a nice dense pompom.


Now slide the strong fabric scissors between the two cardboard rings and carefully cut the yarn all the way around.


It should look like this. Hold it carefully so it doesn't fall apart.


Take a length of yarn and pull it between the two rings. You may need an extra pair of hands. This yarn should be doubled. Pull very firmly, and tie it tight.


Pull out the cardboard and fluff your pompom.


You may trim the uneven bits if you want, just don't overdo it and give your bunny a short haircut.


Time to give your pompom a hug. It is starting to feel like a real bunny.


Make the head pompom now.


Do not cut the long piece of yarn you used to tie the small pompom together. Thread it through the yarn needle and sew it firmly into the dense knotted center of the body pompom. Knot it and trim it.


Cut two felt ears and sew them into the dense center of the head pompom using the sewing needle and thread. (This is when a doll needle is handy.)


To make the tail I wound some very soft fluffy white yarn around my finger and tied the ring together with another piece of yarn. I left the ends of the yarn long enough to sew into the center of the body pompom.


I experimented with some shoe button eyes, but decided I liked my bunny better without them. Now let your bunny down to explore the garden.

Urban Spring

May Day Surprise

Happy May Day!

Christians all over the world celebrate the Virgin Mary today, gardeners celebrate spring, traditional girl's schools like the one I went to celebrate with a May Queen and a dance around the maypole, and everyone can celebrate kindness. Celebrate kindness by making a special bouquet, perhaps for someone who lives alone, and leave it hanging on their front doorknob in secret. Children love doing a secret good deed. Sometimes it is fun for them to ring the doorbell (only one time!) and hide in the bushes to see their neighbor find the beautiful surprise.


The construction of the cone is very simple. Just roll up a piece of printer paper, and tape or staple it together. A colored cone or a paper doily cone would be nice, too. Use a hole puncher to make some holes and thread a ribbon for hanging the cone on the doorknob. Make a bouquet. We wrapped ours in a wet paper towel and crunched some aluminum foil around it, in case the bouquet isn't found for a while.